Green Money Savers -- Veg-based Meals

Every little bit counts in a strained household budget. This week's tips offer ways to go green while reducing costs.

Tip #4: Dabble in vegetarianism

Meat may be many things, but cheap it is not. While burgers won't set you back much at the drive-thru, they could contribute to high health costs over the long term--and they have a big environmental impact. If you cook at home, tofu and eggs offer protein-rich, low-cost alternatives to meat. If eliminating all animal products from your diet sounds like too much, consider starting with vegetable-centric meals three times a week.

Share your tips: Have you changed your diet and ended up saving money? What do you think about part-time vegetarianism?

Comments

[Josh Neumann]

Being a full fledged vegan, I haven't noticed it helping save any money (quite the contrary) but the health benefits more than make up for it.

[Beau Broughton]

I'm a junior in high school and made the decision to go vegan about a year ago and it has been the best decision I've made since it not only opened my eyes to all sorts of new foods, like quinoa and tempeh, but eating vegan has also given me a lot more energy and of course it feels good to know that I'm not supporting animal cruelty and environmental destruction.
It may seem overwhelming at first but just make the change gradually and visit goveg.com for all the information you'll ever need about all the benefits of a vegan diet and vegcooking.com for tons of delicious, animal-free recipes.

Go green, go vegan!

[Tracy]

i agree with Josh. I too is a full flegde vegan. I just love it.

[Nancy]

Before adding soy to your diet, check out the health risks it may present. I won't go into them here, but soy is not the health food many believe.

[P Bengs]

My wife and I have practiced a kind of part-time vegetarian diet for a few years now, and we love it, and feel so much better. We mostly do our meat-eating when we don’t wish to alienate friends who want to cook for us, or when we are out and about on the weekends and crave fish, or chicken. At home we opt for a mostly vegan diet. Typical nourishing meals might be brown rice, along with spicy curried lentils, and some lightly sautéed veggies, and a crisp, cool salad . We try to avoid any processed or packaged foods, since that is where most of the unhealthy ingredients are, as well as most of the expense at the supermarket. But it’s not always cheap to opt for veggies, especially if you shop at local farmers markets in order to eat from your local organic “foodshed”. Learning various exotic cuisines makes the vegan diet easier to adopt, since the food tastes more like hearty, appetizing food, rather than some form of punishment . I highly recommend Indian, Thai, and Vietnamese cookbooks, which are usually full of great vegetarian options.

Here's another not-so-green side-effect of eating vegetarian: we bought a new refrigator, and ended up not throwing our old one out because we found having two refrigerators allowed to easily accomodate our large bunches of veggies and also our numerous pots of soup-stocks, beans, and leftovers. We noticed we needed a lot more refrigator space when we began eating vegetarian. Anyone else going through this?

[Carole]

I'm 66 years old, and have eaten a vegan diet (with some honey at times) for many years. I gave up meat about 34 years ago, and my health improved greatly.
After that it only made sense to get off all flesh foods and dairy and eggs. Our local Vegetarian group has potlucks once a month. What a feast! I eat a far bigger variety of foods than my carnivore friends, have better health and pay much less when we go out to dinner together. Why do many find it "natural" to eat certain animals and love others as pets? Raising animals for food contributes to environmental pollution and global warming. Many health problems are the result of TOO much protein from an animal source. Do yourself and the world a BIG favor, go Vegetarian and better yet, Vegan!

[Pam Sorrell]

My family has been eating meatless meals for over 30 years although we still eat meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. I've collected many wonderful meatless recipes through the years and they are some of our favorites. I can recommend some great cookbooks to guide people who are experimenting with this cuisine. The first ones I bought were Diet for a small Planet and Recipes for a Small Planet, by Frances Moore Lappe. She explains how to mix various foods such as grains, legumes, and dairy to achieve complete protein. I would recommend Diet as a great starting place--You will easily understand how to cook perfectly nutritious meals and the best part is that her recipes are often delicious as well. Lately I've become very interested in Indian and Thai cuisine and the use of various beans and grains with the wonderful eastern herbs and spices such as
cumin and cilantro. I would never want to be without these foods now. I've also discovered Deborah Madison, an award-winning cookbook author whose books I enthusiastically recommend. My favorite is Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen. I hope some of this is helpful to others. I could talk about this all day!

[Suzi O-N]

I've been cutting down my meat intake for a few years now. My grocery bill has not gotten smaller though because I now eat more organic and locally grown foods. I eat a small amount of fish or chicken or less often pork or beef (more a side dish than an entree size) about two times a week. Now my health is better. More fruit, veggies, beans, tofu and a wider variety of grains have made the aches and pains of aging (that I was just starting to get) disappear! I feel good about what I'm doing for the planet too.

[K. Lee]

Well, it's not exactly related to being vegetarian, but my mom has started growing her own vegetables in her garden. Our backyard just used to be a patio and grass. But all of her vegetables make it seem much more lively, and it's pretty. The important part though, is that we don't have to pay for buying most of our vegetables, which is kind of neat.

I've been trying to go vegetarian for a while, but am somewhat failing. I'll take Beau Broughton's advice and try the site (goveg.com).

[Anne]

According to a 2006 study "Diet, Energy and Global Warming", switching from a "Standard American Diet" to a vegetarian diet takes a bigger bite out of global warming than trading in your SUV for a hybrid car.(from the book Go Green, Live Rich by David Bach). I say, "Do both!"

[James Shelton]

I save money on local, near organic food by eating lots of vegatables. This saves because of the beans and barley added to my meals. I mostly save because I do not eat out much except to go for coffee or soups. All the fresh vegatables and fruits, grown locally cost more but it's better than spending on eating out. It's increadably healthy and tastes very good. I have been eating pumpkins and butter beans with a little barley for lunch this time of year. I also occasionally have a little local seafood or meat. Local cheeses and eggs make the small amount of meat ok. I think this is a very healthy diet because the majority of my calories come from beans, grains, nuts, and fruit.

[Cherida Hivale]

I gave up meat completely almost a year ago, I have also given up leather. My reasons however had less to do with my health and everything to do with preventing the unnecessary suffering of the animals. I'm working on going vegan as a next step.
Whatever my reasons, my health has certainly improved, my weight has dropped off a bit, my digestion is better and my skin too seems brighter and clearer. I have incorporated more lentils and soy products as a healthier protein source.

[Frances]

Cost-wise, I don't know that I'm saving $ as a vegetarian/vegan, except that if you look at the price of organic meats (hold the AB's and hormones...) yes, there is a difference. I think it may be more expensive to eat fresh cooking at times - look at the coupons available for processed foods. However, the health benefits are priceless. I gave my husband a kidney 5 yrs ago, and I may be the fastest recovery the hospital has ever seen. Up and dressed the next day, no painkillers other than a couple Tylenol, and I was mowing the grass at home a week and a half later. I would rather plan my shopping, watch my portion size, skip some things like dessert (replace w/ fresh fruit) or empty snacks and have good health and a clear conscience. You know the 'pay me know or pay me later'? Spend money on healthy, wholesome food, reap the benefits of good health and don't spend $ on prescriptions for preventable illnesses.

[Margie Campaigne]

I can't quite imagine how eating vegan is more expensive than a meat-based diet, unless the former is organic and the latter was cheap junk food. But who knows, all I know is that food keeps going up. I've been vegetarian for over 20 years, and am vegan for many meals.

PAM - Frances Lappe has more recently recanted the protein-combining for every meal advice. A balanced diet throughout the entire day (re: protein) is all that's recommended now.

And yes - there are health benefits! I invited my boyfriend to a talk a few months ago by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyne on heart health & a plant-based diet. The doctor's Powerpoint & talk were so persuasive that he went vegetarian immediately! His cholesterol had been unmanageable even with drugs, but a month later, it was terrific.

Food IS medicine, and you ARE what you eat. You choose.

[Maggie]

I have to agree with Cherida, on the reason I gave up eating meat (expect fish), unnecessary suffering of the animals. I do love eating fish but I have cut out all chicken, pork, beef, etc from my diet. For my husband who likes eating meat, I tell him that eating meat should not be a daily thing, meat should be consider as a luxury to get, we over do it with meat in this country. If everyone just cut back to having meat every other day, it would make such a big difference. Plus there is so many great meatless meals out there.

[Mar]

Actually, living vegetarian and organic has been an expensive lifestyle. Making an organic vegan lentil soup is more expensive than Hamburger Helper for dinner, but the long-term benefits outway the added expense.
Vegetarian/vegan and organic ingredients have notoriously been higher in price than store brands.
Almond butter is 4 times the price of junk peanutbutter, fresh fruit and fresh fruit juices cost more than canned, etc., and therefore, packed lunches have cost more too.
Our family has never eaten at the Fast Food places b/c they haven't had any choices, we therefore, have always enjoyed home cooked, family meals.

[Linda]

I went Vegetarian 13 months ago when I became an Environmentalist, Conservationist and Animal Rights Activist. (My cholesterol level was 275 and weight was right up there too!) I cut out all the junk food, sodas, caffeine, chemial additives and have tried to embrace the "Locavore" life style. I grew my own "organic" garden, canned, froze, preserved and pickled my way through the Spring and Summer while working 2 jobs. I have dropped 4 dress sizes, my cholesterol is 130 (and dropping) and I have more energy then most 20 year olds. Vegetarianism is the only way to go to improve your health, the environment, and your pocketbook. Oh, did I fail to mention that I am a 59 year old woman?

[starr]

I think it cost me more to be a vegan but at least I'm not adding to the suffering of animals any longer..

[marybeth]

To the person who made a comment about soy not being a great health food....soy is found in almost ALL prepacked foods. People think you only consume soy in things like tofu or soy milk...that couldn't be farther from the truth. Soy and corn are so widespread in the American food supply that you can't avoid it. So, while people may think that they aren't getting much soy, vegetarians & non vegetarians consume quite a bit of it. Adding tofu to your diet isn't going to make a huge difference in soy consumption overall.

[Sarah Jennings]

Part-time vegetarianism: absolutely!! I have come to really dislike eating meat/flesh every day, and don't feel as good when I eat it too often. It helps that I am very fond of just about any sort of bean you can think of, also of hummus......

[kenton dunbar]

Yeah, Friedman in his Hot Flat and Crowded cites the stat that 40% of the worlds grain production goes to feed the animals upon which we feed ourselves.